ABOUT THE FIRM
Quirk Studio is an avant-garde Interior Design firm based in Mumbai. The studio was founded in 2013 by Interior Designers Disha Bhavsar and Shivani Ajmera joining forces to establish a boutique design studio, aiming to depart from conventional ideas of luxury to cater to modern, novel notions of comfort and self-expression.
United by a passion for the poetics of space, Disha and Shivani bring together a combined experience of over 10 years. Having worked with some of India’s largest and acclaimed design practices, Disha and Shivani imbue their contemporary, ingenious vision with cutting-edge industry experience to deliver premium design solutions for residential and commercial spaces alike. The impetus behind their process is to amalgamate pragmatic function, neoteric design sensibilities and the intrinsic role of function in any space regardless of its genre.
Innovative and experimental, the firm’s portfolio is a curation of projects that best exemplify the notion of bespoke concepts – each unique in its expression, yet uniformly vibrant and welcoming. With a focus on the tactility of materials and subtle shifts of mood through strategic décor planning, Quirk Studio has fabricated style and sensibility in all of its projects. Having worked with notable clients such as Music Director – Pritam for Jam8, Saregama Pvt. Ltd., Casa Vogue, Spenta Corporation, Dr Jamuna Pai, two retail outlets for the Fancypants retail store, Comedian and Writer Rohan Joshi, Indian Film Producer Deepshikha Deshmukh and Actor Jackky Bhagnani — Quirk Studio’s clientele has quickly proliferated to provide comprehensible design solutions to a plethora of their clients, reputed corporations and eminent personalities.
Disha and Shivani have been recently shortlisted for the I-Gen 2020 Awards (ITP Group) for one of their most significant projects – House No. 12, they secured positions as the Finalists for the Expand Loft Office under the Commercial Category, Interior Design and were also Finalists for The Fluid Home under the Residential Apartment Small Category, Interior Design both at the FOAID Virtual Week. The duo has also been recognized by Wade Asia 2019 for their noteworthy work, being shortlisted in various categories (Emerging Interior Designer, Young Wade India Emerging The award, and Excellence-Residential Interior, Excellence-Commercial Interior).
Quirk Studio is also regularly featured in some of India’s top publications such as Elle Decor India, Architectural Digest India, Home and Design Trends, GoodHomes, Architects and Interiors India, Ideal Home and Garden, Clove Magazine, ET Panache, Times of India, Indian Express, Financial Express, and Living Etc., India Today Home and Design Middle East. An influencer in the digital design space, both Disha and Shivani have found legendary fame for their brand Quirk Studio.
ABOUT THE PROJECT – THE MYSA HOME
A Scandinavian-inspired apartment that is strung together by a keen interplay of minimalism, functionality, and a sense of wellbeing to create an oasis.
Design Firm: Quirk Studio
Year of Completion: December – 2020
Project Typology: Residential Interior Design
Square Footage: 1,400 Square Feet
Photography Credits: Kuber Shah
Burrowed in the upscale coastal suburb of Bandra, Mumbai, The Mysa Home is a young family’s haven in the heart of the beaming cosmopolitan city. The term Mysa (MEE-sah) in the Swedish language hints at comfort and the enveloping feeling of cosiness. This home’s design ethos has a pivotal focus on the creation of an environment that emphasizes the enjoyment of space with the entirety of one’s senses, consciously immersing them in the indulgence of fleeting moments.
The quaint, sea-facing apartment echoes the tranquillity of its surroundings and almost seems to beckon the quiet vastness and serenity through the thresholds of the abode. Large floor-to-ceiling fenestrations are reminiscent of the yesteryear Bombay apartments; they render the interior spaces awash in natural light that transforms through the length of the day. The play of daylight in this home figuratively hints at the vision of pervasive warmth that embraces the residence.
As a young couple who have embarked on the journey of owning and inhabiting their first home, the client brief places crucial importance upon creating a dwelling that exudes familial warmth, cocooning them in a series of spaces to rest, convene and contemplate. In devotion to the maxim of ‘less is more, the home’s DNA is intended to be an ensemble of bright, capacious, and timeless spaces that are interwoven with minimalism.
The coherence of the brief and a shared tethered vision chisel to life the design identity adopted in this home. Nordic and Scandinavian influences in which the residence is immersed is a resultant of the clear manifestation of the client’s brief, which in turn moulds the apartment’s aura. At the Mysa Home, simplicity is the chosen medium of expression of Hygge (to be laced with a feeling of contentment and wellbeing) which frontlines the focal design resolution. The intended duration of the design elements, a soothing colour palette, and tactile textures coupled with sleek furniture, luminaires, and pieces of art bring the conceptual impetus of the home to the forefront. Every object in the residence introduces a nuanced character in the space, inducing conversations around the level of detail-orientation. The persona of the home pays homage to the inhabitant family’s aspiration to live surrounded by what essentially matters the most to them. Warm tones of wood, neutral hues that bathe upholstered surfaces, monochromes, metallic touches, and hints of natural greenery converge to create the presiding elements of the material palette at The Mysa Home.
The apartment unfurls into an open-plan, living cum dining area that occupies the heart of the layout. Laden in neutral hues, the living and dining areas have been earmarked by a two-tone, colour-blocked half wall that interjects the space with visual warmth. Remindful of a snug cottage in the Swedish landscape, the space has been dotted with pattern-play via art, muted upholstery, and a dash of powder blue in the console that is bookended by minimalist prints. The restrained, yet impactful choice of furniture assists in the tactful demarcation of fluid zones, steering clear of the need for physical barriers.
Melding seamlessly with the living section, the dining area is anchored by a solid wood dining table and spindled bench that is coupled with modern upholstered chairs; the grains of the wood further exaggerate the brilliant craftsmanship of the pieces and emanate a welcoming sentiment for the family to dine and converse. This nook is accented by an amber and grey cluster globe pendant light and a warm blue credenza, which boasts of geometricity with its fluted shutters. The rustic art prints and an assortment of bric-a-brac pepper the space to create a greeting vignette.
Stitched into the layout using a partition system composed of clear glass and black metal, the kitchen becomes a homogenous part of the spatial layout. Daylight streams across glazed surfaces and illuminates the galley kitchen, further elevating the all-white pristine interior. The hardware-less cabinetry amplifies the expanse, allowing it to retain its clutter-free visual palette. Vertically-stacked, white subway backsplash tiles accentuate the volume of the compact, yet pragmatic kitchen.
A connective passage flanked towards the private zone of the home prologues the ensuite bedrooms. Keeping in line with the overruling identity of the above, the passageway is punctuated with Ashwood-hued doors and a collage of watercolour pastel geometric art. The bedroom suites in The Mysa Home are honest extensions of the communal spaces and nod to the overarching pared-down aesthetic.
The master bedroom is utilitarian in its function, yet elevates the look and feel of the room. The taupe Venetian-plastered walls anchor grayscale still-life prints that grace the plush upholstered bed’s headboard. Complementary suave nightstands are paired with amber glass globes and black metal sconces that further iterate the colour scheme in the bedroom. The canvas of the space has been softened by the introduction of monochrome tropical prints that endow the resting space with a rooted demeanour.
Steeped in white, the guest bedroom puts the senses at ease with the first rendezvous. The objet d’art in the room is the floral wallpaper that is swathed with white cherry blossom florets against the faintest mint. The all-presence of white across the furniture complements the inconspicuously tucked beige wardrobe. The brass and white globe pendants hang daintily against the patterned wallpaper that paints the scenic visual of a sprightly summer morning in Stockholm.
The Mysa Home is a robust family home that is helmed by a quiet resonance for the simple elementality. As an embodiment of Nordic elegance, this home has been designed with gusto, while ensuring that it harnesses the ability to evolve with the needs of its end-users. It brings to light a meticulous exercise in place-making, where the quintessential home harmonizes with the sacred contentment of the family that has made it their own.